Thomas Davidson

“ Micropsia, mī-krop′si-a, n. an affection of the eye in which objects appear in less than actual size.
Micropterous, mī-krop′te-rus, adj. having short wings or fins.
Micropyle, mī′krō-pīl, n. (bot.) the orifice in the coats of the ovule leading to the apex of the nucleus, through which the pollen-tube penetrates: (zool.) the hilum of an ovum at the point of attachment to the ovary: any opening in the coverings of an ovum by which spermatozoa may find entrance. [Gr. mikros, small, pylē, a gate.]
Microscope, mī′krō-skōp, n. ”

“ Medicine, med′i-sin, or med′sin, n. anything applied for the cure or lessening of disease or pain, whether simple or compound (made up of more than one ingredient) : the science which treats of the prevention or cure of disease: a charm.—v.t. to treat or cure by medicine.—adj. Medic′inal, relating to medicine: fitted to cure or to lessen disease or pain.—adv. Medic′inally.—ns. Med′icine-bag, a Red Indian's receptacle for charms; Med′icine-chest, a chest for keeping medicines in a ship, &c.; Med′icine-man, among savages, a witch-doctor or exorciser.—adjs. ”

“ Microscop′ic, -al, pertaining to a microscope: made by, or as if by, a microscope: visible only by the aid of a microscope: working with, or as if with, a microscope.—adv. Microscop′ically.—ns. Mī′croscopist, one skilled in the use of the microscope; Mī′croscopy.—Binocular microscope, a microscope with two eye-pieces, for viewing an object with both eyes at once; Compound microscope, a microscope with two sets of lenses so arranged that the image formed by the lower or object glass is again magnified by the upper or eye-piece. ”

“ Megascope, meg′a-skōp, n. a form of solar microscope for throwing enlarged images on a screen: (phot.) an enlarging camera.
Megatherium, meg-a-thē′ri-um, n. a gigantic extinct quadruped of the order Edentata, found in the pampas of South America. [Gr. megas, great, thērion, wild beast.]
Megilp, me-gilp′. See Magilp.
Megohm, meg′ōm, n. a unit of electrical resistance, equal to one million ohms. [Gr. megas, great, and ohm.]
Megrim, mē′grim, n. a pain affecting only one half of the head or face: lowness of spirits: a sudden sickness of a horse at work. ”

“ Mendicant, men′di-kant, adj. in the condition of a beggar: practising beggary.—n. one who is in extreme want: a beggar: a member of one of the R.C. orders who live by begging: a begging friar.—ns. Men′dicancy, Mendic′ity, the state of being a mendicant or beggar: the life of a beggar.—Mendicant orders, religious bodies who depended on begging for their support. ”

“ Met′allotherapy, the treatment of disease by the external application of metals.—Metallic oxide, a compound of metal and oxygen; Metallic salts, salts having a metal or metallic oxide for base.—Base metals, lead, zinc, copper, iron; Fusible metal, a metallic alloy that fuses at a very low temperature—usually of lead, tin, and bismuth; Light metals, those whose specific gravity is less than 5; Noble, or Perfect, metals, gold, silver, platinum, so called because they keep their lustre when exposed to the air. ”

“ Meter, a form of metre.
Meter, mē′tėr, n. one who, or that which, measures, esp. an apparatus for recording automatically the quantity of a fluid passing through it, as in gas-meter, water-meter, &c.—v.t. to measure by a meter.—n. Mē′terage.—Dry meter, a gas-meter with bellows-like apparatus and no liquid. [Metre.]
Methane, meth′ān, n. marsh-gas, the simplest hydrocarbon, found wherever the decomposition of vegetable matter is taking place under water, also in coal-mines, forming when mixed with air the deadly fire-damp.—n. Methanom′eter. ”

“ Midd′lings, the coarser part of ground wheat.—Middle Ages, the time between the downfall of the western Roman empire, about 476 A.D., and the Reformation in the first quarter of the 16th century, or even earlier—in the later half of the preceding century, when printing was invented, America discovered, and the revival of learning took place; Middle class, that part of the people which comes between the nobility and the working-class ”

“ Methuselah, me-thū′ze-la, n. a patriarch said to have lived 969 years (Gen. v. 27) : any very aged person.
Methyl, meth′il, n. (chem.) the name given to the hypothetical radical of methylic alcohol or wood spirit.—n. Meth′ylene, a highly inflammable and volatile liquid, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood.—adj. Methyl′ic, denoting alcohol obtained by the destructive distillation of wood.—Methylated spirit, a mixture of nine parts of alcohol with one of pyroxylic or wood spirit (to prevent people drinking it) , used for spirit-lamps, varnishes, &c. ”

“ Metalepsis, met-a-lep′sis, n. (rhet.) a compound figure that consists in uniting two or more different tropes in the same word, or in so using a word as to suggest two or three different figures by it.—adjs. Metalep′tic, -al. [Gr.]
Metallurgy, met′al-ur-ji, n. the art of working metals: the art of separating metals from their ores.—adj. Metallur′gic, pertaining to metallurgy.—n. Met′allurgist, one who works metals: one skilled in metallurgy. [Gr. metallon, a metal, ergon, work.] ”

“ Mesentery, mes′en-tėr-i, or mez′-, n. a membrane in the cavity of the abdomen, attached to the backbone, and serving to keep the intestines in their place.—adj. Mesenter′ic.—n. Mesenterī′tis, inflammation of the mesentery. [L.,—Gr. mesenterion—mesos, middle, enteron, intestines.]
Mesfaith, mes′fāth, n. (Tenn.) wrong faith, error of belief. [Fr. mes—L. mis, wrong, and faith.]
Mesh, mesh, n. the opening between the threads of a net: the threads and knots which bound the opening: network.—v.t. to catch in a net: to engage or interlock, as gear-teeth.—v.i. to become engaged thus.—n. ”

“ Midd′le-class, pertaining to, or included in, the middle class.—ns. Midd′le-earth (Shak.) , the earth, considered as placed between the upper and lower regions; Midd′leman, one who stands in the middle between two persons: an agent who does business between two parties: in Ireland, one who rents land in large tracts, and lets it in small portions to the peasantry.—adjs. ”

“ Microcosm, mī′krō-kozm, n. a little universe or world: (often applied to) man, who was regarded by ancient philosophers as a model or epitome of the universe.—adjs. Microcos′mic, -al, pertaining to the microcosm.—n. ”

“ Megafarad, meg′a-far-ad, n. in electrometry, a unit equal to a million farads.
Megalichthys, meg-a-lik′this, n. a genus of extinct ganoid fishes. [Gr. megas, megalē, great, ichthys, a fish.]
Megalith, meg′a-lith, n. a huge stone.—adj. Megalith′ic. [Gr. megas, great, lithos, a stone.]
Megalomania, meg-a-lō-mā′ni-a, n. the delusion that one is great or powerful. [Gr. megas, great, mania.] ”

“ Met′alled, covered with metal, as a road; Metal′lic, pertaining to, or like, a metal: consisting of metal.—adv. Metal′lically.—adjs. Metallif′erous, producing or yielding metals; Metal′liform, having the form of metals: like metal; Met′alline, pertaining to a metal: consisting of, or mixed with, metal.—ns. Met′alling, road-metal, broken stones; Metallisā′tion.—v.t. Met′allise, to form into metal: to give to a substance its metallic properties.—ns. Met′allist, a worker in metals: one who is skilled in metals: an advocate of the use of metal as currency ”

“ Merr′y-an′drew, one who makes sport for others: a buffoon: one who goes round with a mountebank or a quack doctor—also Merr′yman; Merr′y-go-round, a revolving ring of hobby-horses, &c., on which children ride round at fairs, &c.; Merr′y-mak′ing, a merry entertainment, a festival; Merr′y-thought, the forked bone of a fowl's breast, which two persons pull at in play, the one who breaks off the longer part being thought likely to be first married. ”

“ Mī′crozyme, a member of a class of extremely minute living organisms floating in the atmosphere, supposed to be the means of communicating certain epidemic and other zymotic diseases. [Gr. mikros, small, zōon, an animal, sporos, seed, zymē, leaven.] ”

“ Micrology, mī-krol′o-ji, n. the branch of science which treats of microscopic objects.—adjs. Microlog′ic, -al.—adv. Microlog′ically.
Micrometer, mī-krom′e-tėr, n. an instrument for measuring minute distances or angles.—adjs. Micromet′ric, -al.—ns. Microm′etry, measuring with a micrometer; Mī′cron, the millionth part of a metre, or 1⁄25400 of an inch; Mī′cro-or′ganism, a microscopic organism. [Gr. mikros, little, metron, measure.] ”

“ Merosome, mer′ō-sōm, n. one of the serial segments of which a body is composed, as the ring of a worm, a metamere, a somite.
Merovingian, mer-o-vin′ji-an, adj. pertaining to the first dynasty of Frankish kings in Gaul, named from Merwig, king of the western or Salian Franks (448-457) , grandfather of Clovis.
Merry, mer′i, adj. sportive: cheerful: noisily gay: causing laughter: lively.—adv. Merr′ily.—ns. Merr′imake, Merr′y-make (Spens.) ”

“ Mermaid, mėr′mād, n. a sea-woman, having the head and body of a lovely woman to the waist, ending in the tail of a fish.—ns. Mer′maiden (Tenn.) :—masc. Mer′man; Mer′maid's-glove, the largest kind of British sponge. [A.S. mere, a lake (influenced by Fr. mer, the sea) , mægden, maid.]
Meroblast, mer′ō-blast, n. a meroblastic ovum.—adj. Meroblast′ic, undergoing segmentation only in the germinal disc, as the eggs of birds. ”

“ Metropol′itic, -al. [L.,—Gr. mētēr, mother, polis, a city.]
Mettle, met′l, n. ardent temperament: spirit: sprightliness: courage.—adjs. Mett′led, Mett′lesome, high-spirited: ardent.—n. Mett′lesomeness, quality or state of being mettlesome.—Put one on his mettle, to rouse a person up to putting forth his best efforts. [From the metal of a blade.] ”

“ Mercer, mėr′sėr, n. a merchant in silks and woollen cloths, or in small wares.—n. Mer′cery, the trade of a mercer: the goods of a mercer. [Fr. mercier.]
Merchant, mėr′chant, n. one who carries on trade, esp. on a large scale: one who buys and sells goods: a trader: (obs.) ”

“ Metamor′phosis, change of shape, transformation: the frequent transformation of human beings to beasts, stones, trees, &c.—an essential part of folklore everywhere: the marked change which some living beings undergo in the course of their growth, as caterpillar to insect, tadpole to frog, &c.:—pl. ”